With UFC 155 just a couple days away the Twitter Mailbag dives into all the big questions, like what’s going to happen to Cain Velasquez if he loses another heavyweight title fight? And will the UFC ever reach PRIDE-era levels of awesomeness with its end-of-the-year event?

All that, plus the usual hand-wringing over women’s MMA, concerns over the state of the flyweight division and some discussion of Chris Leben’s tale of woe and (possible) redemption.

To ask a question of your own, fire up the Twitter and search for @BenFowlkesMMA. Or you can just follow me wordlessly like a total weirdo.

Rod @therodmartin
@benfowlkesMMA What should Velasquez do if he loses again? Is he too big to drop to light heavyweight?

By far this was the most asked question in this week’s Twitter Mailbag. That tells me you fine people have been paying attention to how the UFC deals with fighters after they’ve gone 0-2 against the current champ. Lose once and you might have to wait around a little while for a rematch. Lose twice and you might grow old waiting for a third shot.

Obviously Cain Velasquez isn’t planning on losing another fight to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 155, but if he does lose a lot will depend on how. Should he and JDS go the distance in the heavyweight fight of the decade, it might not be so hard to convince the UFC it’s worth doing again somewhere down the line. On the other hand, if he gets knocked out in the first round again, well, then he’ll need a plan B.

Cutting to light heavyweight seems like it’d be tough for Velasquez, though not impossible. As much as he might not like the idea, he could eventually discover that he likes it a lot more than treading water in the heavyweight division, waiting for Dos Santos to lose. There’s also the chance that Velasquez’s AKA teammate Daniel Cormier could be the man to take the belt from Dos Santos, which would provide yet another obstacle. Would he rather fight his teammate or radically alter his diet? Is it better to hang around in purgatory or starve yourself for a fresh start somewhere else? Those aren’t easy questions. Fortunately for Velasquez, they’re the kind he’ll only have to worry about if he loses on Saturday night.

Joe Price @comfortablejoe
@benfowlkesMMA What would a dominant win Saturday do for @toddduffee in your opinion? He’s awesome, still young, thoughts?

Maybe more than anyone else at UFC 155, Todd Duffee needs a big win. He got booted out of the UFC under unusual circumstances back in 2010, then wandered the earth from one gym to the next before finally getting the call to come back to the big show when the UFC needed someone to replace Matt Mitrione, who had jumped up to replace Shane Carwin. Point is, this was an opportunity created by circumstance. Now it’s up to Duffee to take advantage of that opportunity. Can he do it? I think so. As you pointed out, he’s still young and still has tremendous physical gifts. He only needs to get out of his own way and let the world see what he can do. Thumping Phil De Fries would be a great start, and there’s no reason to think it won’t happen, and in a hurry. I’d get to your laptop early for this Facebook prelim.

Jared @Orderx7
@benfowlkesMMA You think WMMA and more importantly Ronda Rousey is just a fad? Ill tell u, no way I shell out 54.95 for fem. headliner #tmb

Really? UFC 157 has the organization’s first female fight (which also happens to feature the UFC’s first openly gay fighter), a bout between Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida that could determine the next light heavyweight title challenger, not to mention Urijah Faber-Ivan Menjivar and Robbie Lawler-Josh Koscheck, and you don’t feel it’s worth your money all because two women are headlining? That’s your prerogative, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Mig Weston @MigsterMMA
@benfowlkesMMA How many women does UFC need to sign before it’s not viewed as a novelty? And merry christmas mate.

More than two, definitely. You go look at the UFC’s website under “women’s bantamweight” and you see only two fighters: the champ and the challenger. Then you go and look at the flyweights – another new division in the UFC – you see 15 names. Hard to make us think you’re serious about this if you don’t care enough to populate the division the way you would with any other weight class. Still, it’s early on in the UFC’s women’s MMA experiment. Maybe a wave of signings is on the way. Or maybe the UFC plans instead to pluck fighters one at a time from the Invicta ranks. All I know is that if the UFC wants fans to treat this as seriously as any other division, it needs to lead by example.

#knightsec @EliWaterhouse
@benfowlkesMMA when will fighter realize its not “talking your way to a title shot”, its “getting fans interested in seein you fight?” #tmb

True, but that’s a little like saying that it’s not having a high-paying job that’s important – it’s having a bunch of money. One thing often leads to the other, and in the UFC we’ve absolutely seen examples of fighters talking their way into title shots. It’s especially helpful for guys who don’t have the most interesting of fighting styles (looking at you, Chael Sonnen), but who can make up for the temporary lull of action by talking all sorts of mess before and after their fights (yeah, still looking at you).

Here’s where we get around to Tim Boetsch, who I suspect is the impetus for this question. He’s the most recent fighter to make a big deal about how he’s not going to talk his way into a title shot, instead he’s just going to keep beating people up until there’s nobody left. Of course, you could argue that Boetsch has exactly the kind of style that could benefit from some added entertainment value outside the cage. You could also argue that, judging by his past interviews, he might not be capable of talking his way into a title fight even if he wanted to. Maybe if you’re a soft-spoken, grind-it-out wrestler and all-around tough guy, you don’t have any choice but to stay patient and keep winning fights.

If Boetsch beats Costa Philippou on Saturday and then suddenly went all “Ravishing” Rick Rude on us in his post-fight interview, we might assume he’d just suffered serious head trauma and needed to be rushed to the hospital. It’s too late in the game for him to switch tactics now, so he might as well work with what he’s got. Also, isn’t making a big deal about how you’re not going to talk your way into something kind of a backdoor way of trying to do just that? I’m just saying, it’s the most I’ve seen Boetsch’s name in the headlines, and all for talking about how he’s not going to do much talking. Maybe “The Barbarian” is sharper than I’ve given him credit for.

Jamie Varner’s been full of surprises since he returned to the UFC, and Melvin Guillard is a guy who went on TV and basically called him a coward and/or a Ferris Bueller-type faker for getting sick before their scheduled meeting at the TUF 16 Finale. You think these two dudes might be ready to tear each other’s heads off? Because yeah, my money’s on that one delivering some memorable destruction on the FX prelim card.

Seán Sheehan @snsheehan
@benfowlkesMMA #TMB in your opinion who has the better chance of getting a title shot Alan Belcher or Tim Boetsch, eventually, in like 2015

If Alan Belcher can put Yushin Okami away at UFC 155 – and if he’s relatively unscathed afterward – I like his chances a lot better than Boetsch’s. Maybe that’s because I’m working off the assumption that if Boetsch beats Philippou, it will probably be via takedowns and top control. That’s a perfectly legitimate way to win, but we’ve seen Anderson Silva in that fight before. There’s little reason to think that fans are dying to see it again, and, as our previous questioner pointed out, that’s often what really matters in determining who gets the next shot. As long as Belcher can keep from getting Okami’d for three rounds, he’ll have a case worth making.

Dawg Lang Syne @Dawgriguez
@benfowlkesMMA Where “in the mix” is the winner of the Lauzon/Miller fight at UFC 155? #TMB

Unfortunately for both of them, it’s a pretty full mix at lightweight right now. We’ve got Gilbert Melendez coming over from Strikeforce soon. We might also have Eddie Alvarez coming over from Bellator, eventually. Already in the UFC you’ve got Anthony Pettis, who only needs to beat Donald Cerrone at the next FOX event in order to set up a rematch with his old WEC rival. Where does that leave the winner of the Joe Lauzon-Jim Miller fight? Definitely not first in line, but still in front of the loser. Seems to me that’s exactly the kind of situation the phrase “in the mix” was created for. It means we haven’t totally forgotten about you, but neither are we planning our futures around you.

If this is your way of asking whether Zuluzinho will ever fight for the UFC heavyweight title at the big year-end event, I’m afraid I have bad news. If it’s your way of suggesting that maybe the big year-end event isn’t so big this year, you might have a point. A heavyweight title fight is always a big deal, and there are plenty of other exciting match-ups on this card, but it doesn’t quite have that blockbuster buzz, does it? In fairness, the New Year’s Eve event is a different sort of deal in Japan, where New Year’s Eve itself is a much bigger night for TV viewership. Instead of flooding the bars in search of a stranger to make out with at midnight, the Japanese are more likely to stay home and watch the tube with family, maybe go out to visit a shrine later. You know, the usual.

In the U.S., trying to convince a mostly young male audience to stay home and buy a pay-per-view on a night where there’s this weird pressure to have the awesomest time ever is a pretty tough sell. Last year, the UFC even scheduled the event for a Friday just to avoid the headache of running an event on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas. So yes, maybe it’s not surprising that the year-end show is becoming simply the last event before the clock runs out. Especially after an injury-riddled 2012, we should probably just be glad that there are enough fighters left standing to have a real event. It might lack the pageantry and the star-power of a Pride NYE event, but at least you won’t have to stay home on New Year’s to see it.

Rasmus Jarborg @rjarborg
@benfowlkesMMA #TMB With Leonard Garcia relegated to the FB-prelims, does he have what it takes to get back “in the mix”… if he ever was?

If I had to predict what the future will look like for Leonard Garcia, I’d have to say that it will look a lot like the past, only with diminishing returns as the years go on. His style just isn’t built for longevity. Even when he tells himself he’s going to play it smart, stop trying to brawl it out with every opponent he faces, something happens to him the minute he gets punched in the face. Usually what happens is he turns into a human haymaker machine, then he loses. Garcia is 33 years old now, and he’s been so consistently rewarded for that style that I wonder whether he’s even capable of change. I’d like to say yes, but I’m not sure I believe it. Maybe the best he can hope for is that one of those haymakers lands in just the right spot against Max Holloway, which in turn might buy him a few more chances to throw them on TV.

David Bowman @ThunderValleyKO
@benfowlkesMMA #TMB how can Cariaso v. Moraga not be televised if they are serious about the flyweight division? #1contmatch

The UFC is in a tough spot with the flyweights. If it puts them out front in a pay-per-view title fight, they get booed. If it sticks them on a FUEL TV event or hides them on the prelims, we wonder how they’re ever supposed to build up a fan base for the 125-pounders if too few people get to see them. And having them main event a FOX fight card? You better believe there’ll be some griping about that. Damned if you don’t, damned if you do. The best approach here might be to hope that Chris Cariaso and John Moraga do something to each other that’s worth replaying on the broadcast. Though, with heavyweights Duffee and De Fries also on the Facebook prelims, the competition for replay air time could be pretty stiff.

Josiah Renaudin @JosiahRenaudin
@benfowlkesMMA Is Leban essentially starting over at UFC 155, or is he at risk of getting cut with a second-straight loss/drug problem? #TMB

I don’t think you really get to start over when you’re a 32-year-old pro fighter with a history like Chris Leben’s. What we make of his present and his future is inextricably bound up with what we know of his past. That said, he can afford a loss a lot more than he can afford another failed drug test or DUI.

The UFC likes Leben. You can tell that just by how many chances he’s gotten to get his life together. There have been times when it seems like the UFC and the MMA world in general want Leben to be clean and sober and successful even more than he wants it. I think part of that is how open and honest he’s been about his struggles. It feels like we’ve all lived through the ups and downs with him. We remember back when he was just a wild-eyed kid on “The Ultimate Fighter.” We also remember when he took a fight he had no business taking against Anderson Silva, and his strategy of “rough-necking” the future champ went horribly. Leben feels like a member of the family in a way that most fighters don’t. You know he’s had his problems, but when he needs a little money or a ride to an AA meeting, you can’t tell him no. That’s why we want to see him pull it together and do well, but also why he has more power than most to break our hearts with his own self-destructive impulses.

If Leben goes out on Saturday and gets beaten by Derek Brunson, we can write it off as ring rust. He’s been out for more than a year. He needs some time to get his feet under him. It happens. He’ll be back. On the other hand, if he wins and then fails a drug test, or goes home to Hawaii and gets in trouble with drugs and/or alcohol again, that’ll be much more serious. It’ll also probably be much tougher to bounce back from. You never know how many chances you’ll get to turn your life around, but each one you burn through leaves you a little closer to the end of the line.

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